I went for a stroll around the Forbidden City one Sunday afternoon. In the morning I'd been strolling around Tiananmen square and wandered north to the Forbidden City. The first thing that struck me is that the perimeter walls are so big, they are enormous and seem much higher than 10m. By the time I entered I had almost four hours before closing time, enough time I thought. I had not bothered to read the section in the Lonely Planet guide and how wrong I was, I had to walk very quickly in order to do just one lap before closing. There were so many rooms, courtyards, gardens and gates. It amazes me how so much could be kept away from ordinary people for so long.
800 buildings.
9000 rooms.
720,000,000 sq. metres.
When I entered I read a notice that said there are 8500 treasures within the Forbidden City. While reading that sign I couldn't help thinking of what I was told by a National Palace Museum tour guide (in Taipei). She mentioned that the Forbidden City has few national treasures to display. So, I was wondering how the 8500 Forbidden City treasures would compare. The National Palace Museum wins by a long way, it has a far richer collection of Chinese artifacts than the Forbidden City with a much more diverse range of artifacts on show. However, I didn't feel shortchanged because the Forbidden City more than makes up with historical value and Ming dynasty architecture. With so much development over recent years in Beijing, it's a rare site.
Click here to see the photos.
